Proverb 3:9, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the
firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with
plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

One of the biggest problems I
see in America today are people who foolishly financially support
dead-beat ministries. Proverb 3:9 tells us to “honour” the Lord
with our substance and increase. You're not honoring God with your money
when you give it to an apostate ministry that doesn't believe in the
inspiration of the King James Bible.
You're not honoring God with your money when you give it to an apostate
ministry that teaches a false gospel of
Lordship Salvation,
worships statues, or doesn't go
soul-winning.

It's epidemic in America. Ninety-five
percent of all churches in America are a big waste of money. It's
tragic how religious people blindly support so many worthless
ministries. America's churches are a disgrace. I like what
Billy Sunday said early one hundred years ago...

"It would be a godsend if the Church
would suffer persecution today; she hasn't suffered it for hundreds of
years. She is growing rich and lagging behind. Going back." -Billy Sunday, The Need for Revivals,
From "Billy Sunday: The Man and His Message", by William T. Ellis,
Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1914

What a statement! I couldn't agree
more with Billy Sunday. The problem is much worse today. We don't know what persecution is in America and other free nations. One of my web visitors recently sent me some photos from Sudan in Africa
showing Christians being stabbed to death by an angry Muslim mob. One man lying dead on the ground had a machete sticking out of his
chest. The churches today in wealthy nations like the United
States are blind to reality. Worse, most churches don't care. The U.S. is in trouble.

Sadly, Christians in America are already
beginning to lose their freedoms because of the indifference and
complacency of its churches. And that is because of its lifeless
and spiritually sleeping pastors. Yet, believers continue to
support such failing organizations. Why do Christians support bad
churches?

A
pastor should lead by example, not force. Pastors can quickly
become big hypocrites if they're not careful. Most pastors receive
quite a bit of gifts, money and fringe benefits throughout the year,
that members in the church don't ever get. That said, pastors
often live a wealthier lifestyle than their congregation. I think it's deplorable for a professed man of God to drive a new car,
eat the best of foods, wear the best of clothes; and yet many of the people
supporting him are living on a shoe-string. It's just not right. Such pastors will be held much more accountable by God since so much has
been given to them.

If you do tithe, do it for the Lord Jesus
Christ and no other reason. Never give a preacher or pastor money
simply because they ask for it. Ask the Holy Spirit, "Is this
money going to further the kingdom of Heaven? Is this money going
to result in lost souls hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What
type of ministry am I supporting? Is the pastor living
extravagantly?" I would NEVER support any ministry like the
Salvation Army that doesn't aggressively preach the Gospel to the
people whom they are trying to help. It's sweet that the Salvation
Army gives hot-chocolate to cold firemen, but it all means nothing if
they don't hear the Gospel. I dare you to go to the Salvation
Army's official website and show me how to be saved. They are
more Army than Salvation. Give your hard-earned money to a
soul-winning church!!! A church that does not have a soul-winning ministry is a dead church. The church in the book of
Acts was a soul-winning church (Acts 20:20).

Please don't think that I'm discouraging
you from tithing, God forbid. I'm simply saying that most of the money
given to ministries today is not used wisely or honestly. Too many
pastors are living high-on-the-hog, going on trips to the Holy Land,
driving a new car every year, golfing with the businessmen in the church
rather than soul-winning, and squandering God's money. I'm sick of the
hypocrisy.

Financial Hypocrisy in Our
Churches

I visited a Baptist church
where the missionary guest preacher hounded the congregation for money.
The church has about 500 members. He said, “I know this church gives a
lot of money; but we need you to give until it hurts for Philippine
missions, because the need is very great.” Yet, hypocritically, 2-weeks
later the pastor and 20 wealthy members of the congregation went on a
trip to the Holy Land, which easily cost them over $100,000. It made me
sick, because weeks earlier the pastor and his guest speaker had been
laying a heavy financial burden upon the congregation; but then they
spent all that money to take a vacation to the Holy Land.

I guess the missionaries didn't need the
money so bad after all? That money could have bought A LOT in the
Philippines where an American dollar is worth about $40 in pesos.
Literally, American money goes 40-times further in the Philippines. You
can live like a king on a small income over there.

I'm not against a pastor and his people
going to the Holy Land; but then don't pressure the working men and
women of the church to give for Philippine missions, laying a heavy
burden upon them, making them feel bad for not sacrificially giving. Put
your money where your mouth is!

Literally, I knew a Lutheran minister who
organized and drove one dozen members of his congregation to SIN CITY
Las Vegas. It is an abomination in the sight of God! Why should God
bless this wicked nation?

There is More to the
Christian Life Than Tithing

From listening to many ministers, you'd
think that all it takes to please God is money. Many preachers just
quote Proverb 3:9, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the
firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with
plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” There are 8
verses before Proverb 3:9, which command the Christian believer to keep
God's Laws, loving mercy and truth, trust the Lord with all thine heart,
fear God and depart from evil.

God's promise to prosper the believer is
not just conditional upon tithing. If your pastor doesn't preach against
women wearing pants and the evils of Rock 'N' Roll music, then you need
to find a different church. There are still some God-fearing Baptist
pastors, in Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches, who still teach
soul-winning, and preach against sin, who genuinely care about people,
and love the truth!

Proverb 3:9 teaches for the believer to
“honour” God with what God has given to them. If we are to honor God,
then we must support the man of God who honors God, and causes that
honor God, and ministries that honor God.

Don't be a fool, give your money to a
soul-winning church. We ought to help the poor; but soul-winning is top
priority, for what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and
yet lose his soul in Hell, fire and damnation for eternity? Most
ministries today are apostate, teaching humanism, evolution and even
atheism. Eighteen percent of the
Unitarian Universal
Church are professing atheists! Most churches today are not
Bible-believing churches. They are false cults. Are you giving your
money to such an organization?

How about Benny Hinn, whom many rightfully
refer to as “Benny Sin?” Benny
Hinn has been exposed publicly as a blatant fraud and liar. Yet, fools
give him over $100,000,000 a year. Are you a fool with your money? God
is not honored by Benny Hinn and his demonic cult. In one message Hinn
preaches a Gospel message, and in the next he
praises the Catholic Church
and Our Lady of Fatima on The Larry King Show. Hinn is of the Devil.
He exploits the Gospel for his own greedy gain. Hinn conforms to
whatever he needs to be to get people's money. Don't be a fool. If you
don't know where to give, then bless God, start your own ministry to the
homeless and needy!

Something that most people won't give God
is their time. If you tithe 10% (which is not a Biblical COMMAND; only a
guideline), then you've only given God 2% of your time. Ten percent of a
40-hour workweek.